LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — A Lake County track and field star will be going for gold at the 2021 Olympics. Sprinter Kaylin Whitney is just days away from living out a lifelong dream.

“It’s just crazy because you work your whole athletic career for this moment and when you achieve that you get hit with this whirlwind of emotions you never even thought was possible to have,” said Whitney, a Team USA member.

After not making it past the Olympic Trials in 2016, she says that lit a fire in her. And now, the 23-year-old Whitney will be representing Team USA in Tokyo.

“Our trials and national championships is most often times harder than the world championships or Olympic Games because the talent pool here is so vast and huge,” said Whitney. “So just being able to go through trials and making the team it gives you a newfound confidence as an athlete, like wow, I made the hardest team in the world, that’s amazing.”

Whitney’s spent countless hours at high school tracks, including becoming a state champ in two events for East Ridge High School.

“Clermont’s a special place to me cause I was born and raised here and just to kind of see everything in my life come full circle. I mean I’ve been running track since I was 7 years old,” said Whitney.

Whitney’s early success came in the 100 and 200 meters. A couple of years ago, she started adding time, and she knew she needed to make a change.

“I remember when I switched events people were like, ‘Oh you’re crazy for doing that, why are you moving up?’ The 400 is one of those events where you don’t pick it, it picks you,” she explained. “It’s one of the hardest events on the track, you literally have to sprint a whole lap.”

For Whitney, being an elite runner, means you’re never off the clock.

“You’ve got to get your treatment in, you’ve got to get your sleeping patterns right, you’ve got to stay on top of your diet. You can’t really afford to slack off in any of those areas because track is one of those sports where you know you’re fast or you’re not,” said Whitney.

The East Ridge High School graduate says having an extra year to prepare for the Games during the pandemic was a blessing in disguise.

“For me, I just took that time and that opportunity to capitalize on, ‘What are my flaws, where can I be better, how can I improve myself as an athlete and person,’” said Whitney. “Because, the Olympics were going to come whenever they were going to come and you had to be ready for it.”

Now that it is here, Whitney hopes they can fly to the finish, to continue the U.S. women’s 4x400 relay winning streak that began in 1996.

“It’s like, ‘Wow, I made my first Olympic team and now I have the potential to get a gold medal with my first Olympic team,’” said Whitney. “It’s so exciting, I can’t wait to get there and have fun and hopefully I’ll bring the gold back to Clermont.”

Whitney leaves for Tokyo on Saturday. She and several other Olympic athletes are trained by three-time Olympian Dennis Mitchell.